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Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Tenth congress
Third Regular
Session
Begun
and held in Metro Manila on Monday the twenty-eight day of July,
nineteen hundred and ninety-seven.
REPUBLIC ACT NO.
9048
AN ACT TO PROMOTE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE
PHILIPPINES OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT OF 1998"
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1.
Authority to Correct Clerical or Typographical Error and Change of
First Name or Nickname � No entry in a civil register shall be
changed or corrected without a judicial order, except for clerical
or typographical errors and change of first name or nickname which
can be corrected or changed by the concerned city or municipal civil
registrar or consul general in accordance with the provisions of
this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.
SECTION 2.
Definition of Terms � As used in this Act, the following terms shall
mean:
(1) "City or Municipal civil registrar" refers to the head of the
local civil registry office of the city or municipality, as the case
may be, who is appointed as such by the city or municipal mayor in
accordance with the provisions of existing laws.
(2) "Petitioner" refers to a natural person filing the petition and
who has direct and personal interest in the correction of a clerical
or typographical error in an entry or change of first name or
nickname in the civil register.
(3) "Clerical or typographical error" refers to a mistake committed
in the performance of clerical work in writing, copying,
transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register that is
harmless and innocuous, such as misspelled name or misspelled place
of birth or the like, which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the
understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to
other existing record or records: Provided, however, That no
correction must involve the change of nationality, age, status or
sex of the petitioner.
(4) "Civil Register" refers to the various registry books and
related certificates and documents kept in the archives of the local
civil registry offices, Philippine Consulates and of the Office of
the Civil Registrar General.
(5) "Civil registrar general" refers to the Administrator of the
National Statistics Office which is the agency mandated to carry out
and administer the provision of laws on civil registration.
(6) "First name" refers to a name or nickname given to a person
which may consist of one or more names in addition to the middle and
last names.
SECTION 3. Who May File the Petition and Where. � Any person having
direct and personal interest in the correction of a clerical or
typographical error in an entry and/or change of first name or
nickname in the civil register may file, in person, a verified
petition with the local civil registry office of the city or
municipality where the record being sought to be corrected or
changed is kept.
In case the petitioner has already migrated to another place in the
country and it would not be practical for such party, in terms of
transportation expenses, time and effort to appear in person before
the local civil registrar keeping the documents to be corrected or
changed, the petition may be filed, in person, with the local civil
registrar of the place where the interested party is presently
residing or domiciled. The two (2) local civil registrars concerned
will then communicate to facilitate the processing of the petition.
Citizens of the Philippines who are presently residing or domiciled
in foreign countries may file their petition, in person, with the
nearest Philippine Consulates.
The petitions filed with the city or municipal civil registrar or
the consul general shall be processed in accordance with this Act
and its implementing rules and regulations.
All petitions for the clerical or typographical errors and/or change
of first names or nicknames may be availed of only once.
SECTION 4. Grounds for Change of First Name or Nickname. � The
petition for change of first name or nickname may be allowed in any
of the following cases:
(1) The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be
ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to write or
pronounce.
(2) The new first name or nickname has been habitually and
continuously used by the petitioner and he has been publicly known
by that by that first name or nickname in the community: or
(3) The change will avoid confusion.
SECTION 5.
Form and Contents of the Petition. � The petition shall be in the
form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before any person
authorized by the law to administer oaths. The affidavit shall set
forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the petition and
shall show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to testify
to the matters stated. The petitioner shall state the particular
erroneous entry or entries, which are sought to be corrected and/or
the change sought to be made.
The petition shall be supported with the following documents:
(1) A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page
of the registry book containing the entry or entries sought to be
corrected or changed.
(2) At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct
entry or entries upon which the correction or change shall be based;
and
(3) Other documents which the petitioner or the city or municipal
civil registrar or the consul general may consider relevant and
necessary for the approval of the petition.
In case of change of first name or nickname, the petition shall
likewise be supported with the documents mentioned in the
immediately preceding paragraph. In addition, the petition shall be
published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation. Furthermore, the petitioner shall
submit a certification from the appropriate law enforcement agencies
that he has no pending case or no criminal record.
The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in three (3)
copies to be distributed as follows: first copy to the concerned
city or municipal civil registrar, or the consul general; second
copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; and third copy to
the petitioner.
SECTION 6.
Duties of the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul
General. � The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul
general to whom the petition is presented shall examine the petition
and its supporting documents. He shall post the petition in a
conspicuous place provided for that purpose for ten (10) consecutive
days after he finds the petition and its supporting documents
sufficient in form and substance.
The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall
act on the petition and shall render a decision not later than five
(5) working days after the completion of the posting and/or
publication requirement. He shall transmit a copy of his decision
together with the records of the proceedings to the Office of the
Civil Registrar General within five (5) working days from the date
of the decision.
SECTION 7.
Duties and Powers of the Civil Registrar General. � The civil
registrar general shall, within ten (10) working days from receipt
of the decision granting a petition, exercise the power to impugn
such decision by way of an objection based on the following grounds:
(1) The error is not clerical or typographical;
(2) The correction of an entry or entries in the civil register is
substantial or controversial as it affects the civil status of a
person; or
(3) The basis used in changing the first name or nickname of a
person does not fall under SECTION 4.
The civil registrar general shall immediately notify the city or
municipal civil registrar or the consul general of the action taken
on the decision. Upon receipt of the notice thereof, the city or
municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall notify the
petitioner of such action.
The petitioner may seek reconsideration with the civil registrar
general or file the appropriate petition with the proper court.
If the civil registrar general fails to exercise his power to impugn
the decision of the city or municipal civil registrar or of the
consul general within the period prescribed herein, such decision
shall become final and executory.
Where the petition is denied by the city or municipal civil
registrar or the consul general, the petitioner may either appeal
the decision to the civil registrar general or file the appropriate
petition with the proper court.
SECTION 8.
Payment of Fees. � The city or municipal civil registrar or the
consul general shall be authorized to collect reasonable fees as a
condition for accepting the petition. An indigent petitioner shall
be exempt from the payment of the said fee.
SECTION 9.
Penalty Clause. - A person who violates any of the provisions of
this Act shall, upon conviction, be penalized by imprisonment of not
less than six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or a
fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more
than One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or both, at the
discretion of the court.
In addition, if the offender is a government official or employee he
shall suffer the penalties provided under civil service laws, rules
and regulations.
SECTION 10.
Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The civil registrar general
shall, in consultation with the Department of Justice, the
Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Supreme Court
Administrator, the University of the Philippines Law Center and the
Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, issue the necessary
rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act
not later than three (3) months from the effectivity of this law.
SECTION 11.
Retroactivity Clause. - This Act shall have retroactive effect
insofar as it does not prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights
in accordance with the Civil Code and other laws.
SECTION 12.
Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is
declared void or unconstitutional, the remaining portions or
provisions thereof shall not be affected by such declaration.
SECTION 13.
Repealing Clause - All laws,
decrees, orders, rules and regulations, other issuances, or parts
thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.
SECTION 14.
Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its complete publication in at least two (2) national
newspapers of general circulation.
Approved.
(Sgd.)
AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, JR.
(Sgd.)
FELICIANO BELMONTE, JR
President of the Senate
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
This Act which is a consolidation of House
Bill No. 9797 and Senate Bill No. 2159 was finally passed by the
House of Representatives and the Senate on February 7, 2001 and
February 8, 2001, respectively.
(Sgd.) LUTGARDO B. BARBO
(Sgd.) ROBERTO P. NAZARENO
Secretary of the Senate
Secretary General
House of Representatives
Approved. MARCH 22,
2001
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the
Philippines
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